Nationwide Division OneWest Ham United 1 Ipswich Town 2
Friday, 26th December 2003
by Graeme Howlett
No doubt tomorrow's morning papers will be full of witty remarks about the Hammers' Christmas spirit extending to their neighbours from up the A12, after West Ham managed to turn 3 points into none in the space of 10 minutes at a packed Upton Park.
In a feat that even Tolkein's fiery wizard Gandalf would be hard pushed to replicate Alan Pardew's men shot themselves in the foot - twice - to end up empty-handed following a game which they should have won on cruise control.The two towering blunders came on 70 and 79 minutes, although the arch villain of the piece was dressed in black on this occasion; referee Barry Knight was taunted with chants of '2-1 to the referee' close to the end of the game by the Hammers faithful after he made some extraordinary decisions - including awarding the penalty to the visitors which led to their equaliser.
Funny that, because at half-time this reporter felt that Knight had given just about the most accomplished performance by a referee at Upton Park this season.
But that was all set to change after the break, and yet again many supporters were left talking about the decisions of a referee rather than the game itself - something which has too frequently been the case this season.
Following a fairly even first half, it was the Hammers who came out of the blocks first in the second period - and they earned their reward for that positive attitude when Jermain Defoe tucked away a Marlon Harewood cross which made for just about the finest goal you're likely to see at the Boleyn this season.
But just like earlier games against West Brom, Millwall, Walsall, Coventry, Wimbledon and Burnley, Pardew's men failed to make the most of their slim advantage and ended up throwing away that hard-earned lead.
Ipswich's equaliser came with just twenty minutes remaining, when Kevin Horlock was adjudged to have bundled over Paulo Counago inside the box. Having not seen video evidence to back up my thoughts it would perhaps be a little tough to suggest the Spaniard fell over a blade of grass - but that was definitely the impression given by the Bobby Moore Lower who sat only feet away from the incident. No deliberation from Knight however, and none from the Ipswich striker who picked himself up to tuck away the resulting spot-kick.
Despite the setback the Hammers faithful remained fully supportive of their team, something which was acknowledged by a furious Alan Pardew in the post-match press conference. But they would have had to have possessed the patience of saints (or white wizards even) to remain ebullient once the visitors stunned the 35,000+ crowd by taking the lead with just 11 minutes remaining.
A Martin Reuser cross basically hit Counago, 12 yards out and with his view of the goal obscured, who saw the deflection spin off his static foot into the bottom corner of David James' net. According to the striker the final touch came off his marker, although there's little doubt who'll be claiming the goal.
And that was just about it; yet again the Hammers had thrown away a game they seemed destined to win. Yet amazingly they remain in the top six of the table, despite having still won just nine league games this season.
Alan Pardew cursed his luck after the game - but the table doesn't lie; West Ham - as, to be fair, Pardew accepted post-match - are simply not good enough to be promoted in their current state. The halcyon days of Premiership football are currently looking a very long, long way away.
Pardew - who had once again locked his players in the dressing room after the game - spoke about his desire to rebuild his fragile squad, but admitted that he would need to sell first.
A case of one ring (from a Mr.Ferguson, or even a Mr.Wenger) to save them all?
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David JamesAnother one of those Jekyll and Hyde performances. Should have had a penalty awarded against him when he flattened an Ipswich striker in the first half, but made up for it with the throw which led to our goal. Not much he could have done about either goal.
Tomas Repka
Our best defender again - although that isn't really much of an accolade. His distribution was better although, on occasion, his first touch appears to be getting even worse. Booked harshly which makes ten for the season, and means another suspension is on its way. Still worth the admission fee alone for the 'what's he going to do next' value, in my opinion.
Wayne Quinn
Managed to bomb up and down the line on occasion and looked reasonably comfortable in our own half. I think most people have accepted that the Cornishman isn't the long term solution to our left-back problem, and perhaps this is just about the most we can expect until a decent full-term replacement for Rufus Brevett is found.
Ian Pearce
Did okay today, but maybe that was because his lack of pace was never exposed thanks to Ipswich's somewhat less than pacy strikers. Not much he can be faulted on overall.
Hayden Mullins
Playing out of position at full-back - and it showed. Keen watchers of the defensive line will have noted how often Mullins was out of position, with the 'line of 4' often reduced to a 'line of 3' as a result. Moved to central midfield as a result of a late tactical shuffle but still failed to impress. Still yet to impress in any position since signing from Palace, and it's hard to see any area in which he has - or indeed can - improve the team.
Kevin Horlock
An interesting player, Horlock. Rarely does he do anything spectacular to catch the eye - yet often one is left reviewing his performances hard pressed to find fault. Well at least that's not the case today - if you can call his nudge on Counago which led to Ipswich's penalty a fault. Apart from that, he was his usual industrial self; whether or not that's good enough to propel us back into the Premiership is another matter entirely.
Michael Carrick
Carrick has become something of an enigma of late. Those of you who remember his brilliant early performances in the Premiership have been left scratching your heads at a series of mind-numbingly average performances in the first division, a level at which he should be excelling. Long gone are those accurate sprayed 40-yard-passes, today I lost count of the number of times his deliveries found an opponent instead of their intended targets. To add insult to injury he missed two sitters inside the last five minutes from inside the six yard box. It may be Jermain Defoe who is 'not right in the head' according to dear old Terry - but it's a description that could equally apply to the young Geordie, who is way out of sorts. Footnote: Michael became probably the first ever player to be booked for (allegedly) diving outside of the penalty box.
Matthew Etherington
Sadly there were few redeeming features in Etherington's performance today. Whilst on occasion he tried to run the line - and, in all fairness, he delivered the odd cross - it was overall a deeply disappointing effort today. Too rarely does he open up play by using the space afforded to him; when he did today he inevitably ended up running straight into defenders (who were really there for the taking). Very poor.
Marlon Harewood
Despite Alan Pardew's insistence on playing him on the wing it is quite clear that he is not comfortable with that particular role - despite the fact that his most valuable contribution came in that role when he hit top gear before supplying the cross for Jermain Defoe's goal. As was pointed out to me today, it's also quite amazing how often he plays with his back to the ball - especially when it's in the hands of David James! Can appear quite nonchalant at times, and that is perhaps why he is becoming the new favourite of a certain subsection of moronic boo-boys who fail to grasp the fact that booing one of your own players does not a healthy environment make.
David Connolly
Busy as a bee as always, but Conners is really struggling to find form of late. A confidence player, the diminutive Irishman appears to have little of that right now - something which probably led to his substitution in the second half. Should really have converted a great cross from Harewood in the first half, and set up Defoe well around the same time - but there was very little else to remember from his effort today.
Jermain Defoe
'Wake up Jermain, it's not January 'til next week' cried one wag in the West Upper today as Defoe yet again refused to jump with a defender for a high ball. Quite whether or not he'd get away with that at an Arsenal or Manchester United is unknown, but despite this obvious fault in his play I felt he was one of our better performers today. Busy throughout, he had the appetite today which had sadly been so lacking at times this season. One thing that cannot be denied is that he scares the pants off of opposition defences, and his goal today was a typical poachers effort - eerily reminiscent of his idol, Ian Wright.
Substitutes
Don Hutchison(Replaced Connolly, 58) Should have had a penalty minutes after Counago's, maybe ready to start again?
Robbie Stockdale
(Replaced Horlock, 80) Had little to do as Ipswich sat back on their slender one-goal advantage for the final few minutes.
Neil Mellor
(Replaced Quinn, 88) A last desperate throw of the dice for Pardew but too late to have any effect.
Stephen Bywater
Did not play.
Anton Ferdinand
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: David James, Tomas Repka, Wayne Quinn, Ian Pearce, Hayden Mullins, Kevin Horlock, Michael Carrick, Matthew Etherington, Marlon Harewood, David Connolly, Jermain Defoe.Goals: Jermain Defoe 49 .
Booked: Tomas Repka 65 Michael Carrick 77 .
Sent off: None.
Ipswich Town: Davis, Richards, Wilnis, McGreal, Bart-Williams, Miller, Magilton, Wright, Naylor, Bent, Kuqi.
Subs not used: Abbey, Westlake.
Goals: Counago (70 pen, 79).
Booked: Reuser (82).
Sent off: None.
Referee: B.Knight.
Attendance: 35,021.
Man of the Match: Tomas Repka.